Reply #23: Ordinarily

[PATRICK]

being so close in the delegate contest would make her nearly a mandatory choice. ALL things aside and looking at the basic rules in wise Veep selection, she is not a good match. She competes with Obama and is not going to be a compatible team player. More importantly, she harms the ticket among independents and crossover Republicans. Arkansas is not much to attract "balance". Dems already attract the women's vote. Hillary could try to undo the damage she has done there without being the VP nominee, but in the campaign it is not too clear what kind of help she(and Bill) will be in taking orders from the Obama camp and not being the willing or unwilling focus of extremely manipulative MSM attention. Automatic harm will be done in playing HRC off against Obama or distracting and enlisting GOP enthusiasm against the ticket. That alone is solid guarantee. Her "experience" touting has already taken major hits or derailing.

Obama is strong in his own right but really cannot afford to carry a continuing rival into the cheat machine and then to the WH where traditionally Veeps are buried alive, but in this case the MSM will likely continue to ferret out dissent and division and distraction. As for Latinos, this would be better served with the experienced Richardson who would not be particularly perceived as mainly a "historic" first. The woman issue, only with the help of Hillary disabusing her loyal base, could be served by Karen
Sebelius, but in any case the VP selection should be 100% compatible with Obama and be seen as a solid possible replacement and complement to the work needed to be done. With ALL the work to be done we need each cabinet member to be strong for the concepts and the team. The certainties of harm outweigh the maybes of benefit and the rivalries will be cemented in place instead of real healing beneath the show of unity.

Hillary's dilemma, which she did not want or plan for, is whether to continue a scorched earth pursuit of the number spot, now lost, seamlessly into the fight for number two- which has rarely ever been a fight at all and the choice of the presidential nominee. Such a fight will openly signal the beginning of a an "undream" ticket which will crumble all but her most fanatical support and worse in November.
She should waste no time herself in facing realities. She has little time or room to salvage anything from her efforts and the price she must pay upfront is the Veep selection AND enthusiastically undoing all the harm. Personally this is not much for her efforts, but much for the greater good of party and nation and world. In the end that would be to her greatest credit as well, something she has not seen all too clearly in the pursuit of the presidency.